Late in the season, Cowboys wide receivers coach Jimmy Robinson said something about Dez Bryant that stuck with me.

Robinson was asked if Bryant was making fewer mental mistakes - on the field - and had become a better player for it.

Robinson’s answer could just as easily have been used for a question about Bryant’s growth - or lack there of - off the field.

“He’ll make a mistake every now and then, but he doesn’t make that many. He doesn’t make a lot of mistakes. He understands what he’s doing. We try to put him in situations where it’s not easy to make mistakes,” Robinson said. “He’s like any young player. Every now and then, something different kind of comes up and you react to it and it may be the right way and it may be a better way. I won’t necessarily say the wrong way, but there may be a better way.”

That brings us to late Sunday night, when Bryant reportedly was in an altercation at a Miami nightclub. Bryant allegedly was provoked and chose the wrong way to respond to the situation.

A mature man would have turned his cheek and walked away, even if provoked more than once.

Bryant has shown over and over that he lacks maturity. His play on the field won’t reach its potential until he cleans up his life away from football.

If Bryant spent as much time off the field studying football as he does playing video games or searching for parties just imagine the kind of player the Cowboys would have at receiver.

Bryant’s athletic ability has never been in question. It’s always been this: “Can we trust Dez away from football?”

Right now, the answer is still a deafening, “No.”

It doesn’t matter if you’re talking about his finances or his decision-making in other arenas of his life.

Everyone likes to suggest that Bryant needs more accountability partners and mentors in his life, such as David Wells.

Think of the 10 best influences in your life. Now, imagine if they surrounded Bryant and gave him good advice upon good advice.

It wouldn’t matter. Several people have reached out to Bryant and offered to help him. Several have given him advice. But Bryant hasn’t chosen to listen.

Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones told Sirius XM NFL Radio late in the season that Bryant has to “get his hands around what he’s doing off the field.”

“We’ve obviously sat down with him on numerous occasions to give any advice we can,” Stephen Jones said. “Hopefully, he’ll be able to correct those things so it doesn’t affect what he can accomplish on the field. If you don’t clean those things up, they tend to affect your career. He understands that.”

The Cowboys also understood what they were getting themselves into when they drafted Bryant with their first-round pick in 2010.

They knew about Bryant’s off-the-field problems. They knew they had their work cut out for them.

Now the question is this: “When is enough, well, enough?” How much patience will the Cowboys have with Bryant?

Though Bryant’s second-year NFL numbers were improved, they weren’t elite. He didn’t reach 1,000 yards in receiving or double figures in touchdown catches.

In other words, there are many more Dez Bryants around the NFL in terms of production. And, the others certainly come with far less baggage.

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